Ye Zhentian pinched his thigh hard.

"Hiss—" The intense pain made him gasp.

It's not a dream!

With a "thud," Ye Zhentian pushed open the car door and scrambled out of the limousine.

He rushed to Zhou Huai in a few steps, his eyes scanning Zhou Huai up and down.

"You...you..." Ye Zhentian pointed at Zhou Huai, his fingers trembling, and he could barely speak.

A while ago, when he went to that villa to pick up Ye Xi, he saw Zhou Huai's corpse with his own eyes!

That deathly pale face, that body without warmth, that completely ceased breathing and pulse!

That's the most dead imaginable!

What's the result now?

The person was standing perfectly fine in front of me, and even their legs, which had been paralyzed for five years, had been cured and they could walk on their own?!

Ye Zhentian felt that the worldview he had built up over most of his life was collapsing once again!

"Uncle Ye, it's been a long time." Zhou Huai looked at Ye Zhentian's bewildered expression and gave a helpless bitter smile.

Upon hearing that familiar voice, Ye Zhentian shuddered.

He quickly took a half step back, swallowed hard, and said somewhat uncertainly, "Zhou Huai, if I may be so bold as to say something offensive..."

"Are you a human or a ghost now?"

Upon hearing this, Zhou Huai couldn't help but chuckle.

He reached out and grasped Ye Zhentian's wrist.

The warm touch and the strong pulse traveled through Ye Zhentian's palm.

"Uncle Ye, don't worry, I'm definitely not a ghost." Zhou Huai's eyes were sincere, his tone calm, and he exuded a reassuring power: "My situation before was a bit special, you could say... I escaped death. Now I've completely recovered, and I won't be confined to a wheelchair like before."

Feeling the real warmth of a living person, Ye Zhentian finally felt relieved.

"Alive! It really is alive!"

Overwhelmed with emotion, he burst into tears, grabbed Zhou Huai's hand tightly, and cried out in a choked voice, "Good! Good! As long as you're alive! Heaven has eyes, Heaven has eyes!"

"If my Xi'er knew you were still alive, she... she would be overjoyed!"

Mentioning Ye Xi softened Zhou Huai's expression, and he felt a pang of guilt.

"Uncle Ye, where's Xi'er? Is she still at the Ye family's house?" Zhou Huai asked impatiently. "I want to see her."

However, upon hearing this question...

The excitement and joy on Ye Zhentian's face quickly faded.

His face was now filled with deep sorrow and exhaustion.

He nodded with a complicated expression and sighed, "Xi'er is at home, but..."

"Just what?" Zhou Huai frowned, sensing that something was wrong.

Ye Zhentian stammered:

“Zhou Huai, because of what happened to you that time... Xi’er really suffered a great shock.”

"After we brought her back from your house, her personality completely changed!"

How can one's personality change so drastically?

"She locked herself in the yard and ignored everyone. What's even more terrifying is... the way she looked at people became incredibly unfamiliar and cold. That coldness wasn't from excessive grief, but rather from looking at a group of insignificant ants!"

"She doesn't even recognize me, her father!"

"As soon as I get a little closer, she unleashes an extremely terrifying aura that even the high-level professional guards in the house find it hard to breathe!"

“I was just worrying about this, not knowing who to ask for help. It’s good that you’re here. Perhaps... the one who tied the knot must untie it; you can awaken her.”

A drastic change in personality? Looking at people like ants? A terrifying aura?

Zhou Huai's expression turned serious.

"Uncle Ye, please take me to see her!"

"Okay! Come with me!"

Led by Ye Zhentian, the two hurriedly passed through the luxurious front hall of the Ye family manor and went straight to a quiet garden at the back.

As soon as Zhou Huai stepped into the garden, he felt an unusual atmosphere.

It was early morning, and the sun was shining brightly, but the air in the garden was chilly.

The once vibrant and blooming flowers now appear withered and gray, their vitality drained by some invisible force.

Zhou Huai's gaze was fixed on the figure sitting on the bench in the center of the garden.

A light green long dress fluttered gently in the wind.

That's Ye Xi.

She was still as beautiful and charming as ever, with skin as white as snow and features so exquisite they seemed otherworldly.

However, upon hearing footsteps, Ye Xi turned her head and her gaze fell on Zhou Huai.

Zhou Huai's heart sank to the bottom.

Her eyes had lost their former liveliness and clarity, and the joy she felt when she saw him was gone.

There was only indifference!

That's definitely not the look Ye Xi would have!

Zhou Huai's heart skipped a beat, and his bad premonition grew stronger.

Ye Zhentian, standing to the side, shrank back in fright and whispered a warning to Zhou Huai, "Zhou Huai, did you see that? Xi'er is in a very bad mood right now. She won't allow anyone to get too close to her, not even me. You have to be careful!"

Zhou Huai didn't speak, but nodded solemnly and strode towards the bench in the center of the garden.

One step, two steps, three steps...

When Zhou Huai walked to a position about ten meters away from Ye Xi.

Ye Xi, who was sitting on the bench, suddenly raised her fair chin.

"stop!"

Although the voice was still Ye Xi's, the tone and expression were completely different.

"Is there something you need?"

She tilted her head and scrutinized Zhou Huai.

Looking at the girl who once had eyes only for him and was willing to risk her life for him, he now felt so indifferent and unfamiliar.

Zhou Huai felt a pang /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ of pain in his heart.

He suppressed the bitterness in his heart and tried to awaken the sleeping soul with the gentlest voice.

"Xi'er, don't you recognize me?"

"I am Zhou Huai."

"What...is wrong with you?"

Upon hearing the name "Zhou Huai," the icy-cold girl on the bench trembled almost imperceptibly.

"Zhou...Huai?"

She lowered her head, and the coldness in her eyes momentarily faded.

Sometimes I try hard to recall it, and sometimes I'm obsessed, repeatedly chewing on the name between my lips and teeth.

“Zhou Huai...Brother Zhou Huai...”

She suddenly stood up from the bench!

A dazzling light burst forth from those previously lifeless eyes!

That was Ye Xi's own dynamism and deep affection!

She stared at Zhou Huai not far away, and saw that face she had longed for day and night, which had lost its life in her arms, now vividly appearing before her eyes!

"Brother Zhou Huai!!"

A sound mixed with ecstasy and disbelief.

"Brother Zhou Huai...you're still alive?! You're really still alive?!"

As she spoke, Ye Xi's eyes reddened, and large tears rolled down her fair cheeks.

Without hesitation, she lifted her pale green skirt and ran towards Zhou Huai, wanting to throw herself into the embrace she had longed for countless days and nights!

Seeing this, Zhou Huai's heart finally calmed down a little, and he opened his arms to welcome his girl.

However!

Just as Ye Xi had taken two steps...

A sudden change has occurred!

Her body came to an abrupt end!

On that stunningly beautiful face, flushed with excitement, the muscles began to twist and twitch violently. Two completely different forces were waging a fierce tug-of-war within her body!

"No... let me go... I need to get there..."

Ye Xi murmured in pain, desperately reaching out one hand towards Zhou Huai while the other hand gripped her own neck, trying to stop herself from moving forward!

In just a few seconds, Ye Xi's own agility and joy were forcibly suppressed and stripped away by the domineering force!

His expression returned to that chilling indifference.

When she looked up at Zhou Huai, her gaze was no longer filled with affection, but instead with deep disgust and hatred!

"I don't care who you are..."

"Get out of here right now!"

Instantly, a visible golden wave of energy erupted from her center!

The withered flowers and plants around them were shredded into dust, and even Zhou Huai was forced to take a half step back by this sudden and terrifying aura!

This capricious and extremely bizarre change completely stunned Ye Zhentian, who was standing not far away.

He stared blankly at his daughter, stammering, "What...what happened? Could Xi'er's condition be due to too much trauma, causing her to develop schizophrenia?"

Schizophrenia?

Zhou Huai shook his head upon hearing this.

His fists were clenched tightly under his sleeves, his nails digging into his palms, and his face was ashen, looking extremely ugly.

He strode forward, facing the suffocating and terrifying pressure, his gaze fixed on Ye Xi in the distance.

"You are... a descendant of an ancient race?!"